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Jackson6612 Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

With each person paying his or her own way

dutch

with each person paying his or her own way <went dutch to the movies>

[M-W's Col. Dic.]

Is 'way' used in sense of expenses in the above context? I couldn't find any definition of ''http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/way'' which fits that meaning.

I would have written something like ' with each person paying for his or her own way/expenses'. Is my way also correct?
  

Top answer

"To pay one's (own) way" is an idiomatic expression that means "to pay one's own share of the expenses". I'd guess that "way" originally meant "journey", but it's much more general now and I wouldn't bother about decomposing the expression (unless you're particularly interested in researching its origin, of course). Just treat it as a unit.

— Mr Wordy

  • "To pay one's (own) way" is an idiomatic expression that means "to pay one's own share of the expenses".
  • I'd guess that "way" originally meant "journey", but it's much more general now and I wouldn't bother about decomposing the expression (unless you're particularly interested in researching its origin, of course).
  • Just treat it as a unit.
  • You can't say "paying for his or her own way".
  • It's not idiomatic.
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2 Answers
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"To pay one's (own) way" is an idiomatic expression that means "to pay one's own share of the expenses". I'd guess that "way" originally meant "journey", but it's much more general now and I wouldn't bother about decomposing the expression (unless you're particularly interested in researching its origin, of course). Just treat it as a unit.

You can't say "paying for his or her own
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